William Riley Cotton

I am a 26 year old master student at the University of Copenhagen. I currently hold a BA in psychology and a BA in economics. I completed these two bachelor degrees in 2012 at The University of North Carolina in Wilmington, USA at the age of 21. I have chosen to specialize in environmental economics, specifically focusing on ecosystem service valuation and techniques of cost benefit analysis.

Since graduating from UNCW in 2012, I moved to South Korea and became an English instructor for elementary students based in Jeonju, Jeolla-buk-do. In 2014, anticipating graduate school application, I moved home and found a job as a special education teacher assistant, tutor of math/science/english, and as a part-time bar-tender. During the winter of 2014/15 I applied to several graduate schools across the world, and after several acceptance letters, chose to attend The University of Copenhagen. Understanding the environmentally conscious society fostered in Scandinavia, as well as the high reputation held by the university in research, I chose to attend this international university.

On completion of my degree, I intend to bring my knowledge of environmental economics home to the United States. I am open to working in the EU, but believe that the US is in a position that currently needs researchers to help facilitate informed policy decisions that benefit social welfare.

I have had the opportunity to travel around the world, and hope that my experience in participating in a global scientific environment, offers a unique perspective to economic and ecological research.

March 2017